Owner David Gerwels on the landscaped grounds of Memories Portraiture.

Memories Photo & Digital's spacious lab.

The store's location features a very open and airy design that makes customers feel at home.

Portrait examples from the studio.

Gerwels says a studio really must offer custom framing.

Examples of the Baby’s First Year panels from that portrait program (a 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-month newborn portrait program).

Examples of the company’s marketing pieces, designed and printed by Marathon Press.

More examples of the store's studio-created portraits.

More examples of the store's studio-created portraits, including one of Gerwels' two children with live bunnies, taken on the beautifully landscaped grounds. Pet portraits are an easy way to get into the portrait business, and most chains do not offer them.

Growth in the portrait business has been double-digit since they moved to the
new location in 2003. “Each year we try to add new services to the studio,” he
reports. “We added live Easter bunnies in 2003, so children could be
photographed with them, and our Easter portraits have been through the roof
ever since. It’s become a trademark for us in Knoxville and the surrounding
areas. It helps keep families coming back each year.” The studio uses
special promotions like that during the Christmas season, as well as around
other holidays.

Wide-Format Printing

In the studio, there is an Epson 9800 wide-format inkjet printer, digitally
compositing images for posters, portraits, and some commercial work. They
work closely with Fuji Hunt, which is a supplier of Epson equipment for the
photo lab market. “We were a very early adopter of wide-format printing,” he
says. “We purchased the Epson printer from Fuji Hunt. They came in,
set up the machine, trained us on it, and also continue to provide tech support.
They have been great to work with.”

With the 9800, they have the ability to produce up to 40x60 inkjet prints.
They also have the option to print on a number of different media types, including
canvas. “Occasionally, we’ll get some really big jobs from local
area businesses for signage,” he adds.

Customer Education Is Key

Gerwels is doing what he can to educate consumers about in-store digital photofinishing.
But he’s not going to depend entirely on them, so he is pursuing a
multitiered photofinishing strategy that includes not just consumers, but
even more increased emphasis on the pro photographer.

“I’m getting a lot of my customers, including pro photographers,
to switch to digital,” he says. “I consider our retail location to
be a true pro lab.”

Gerwels is starting to see more pro photographers coming back to him to process
their images. “We are beginning to see more pros coming back to us with
many questions on digital and color management,” he says. “The
trend in the industry a few years ago was seeing a shift of many pros turning
to mass merchants to process their digital images because they offered cheaper
prices, like .19-cent prints. There is a certain stigma for a print that has
the Wal-Mart name on it. I mean, if you are a photographer and your clients
are paying $30 for an 8x10, and they see that if they went to Wal-Mart or Sam’s
Club, they’d only be paying .19 cents, how are they going to react? Wal-Mart
doesn’t have the quality and service factors that we can offer. Quality
is a big advantage for us. We clearly show our customers that there is a big
difference in quality when they go to a big-box store versus going to a pro
lab location. From this we are seeing more photographers starting to come back
to us.”

Secrets to Success

When asked how he has made some very smart moves in the last few years, Gerwels
credits the IPI Group as a good sounding board. “Having an IPI membership
has been a big plus,” he says. “They provide us with large amounts
of information. Being a member of IPI also gives us the opportunity to talk
with large groups of independents out there that we can all bounce ideas
off of. It’s like a brotherhood—they were key in helping us make
the right business decisions.”

Another reason for Gerwels’ success has been his marketing partnership
with Marathon Press. “They are a company that helps photographers with
their marketing programs,” he says. “They designed my website and
logo. They also print my custom mailer cards. They helped us give our studio
the high-end look we wanted.”

Timely Advice

When asked how other retailers can succeed in this market. Gerwels offers the
following advice: “If you aren’t 100 percent digital in your
workflow, get 100 percent digital. You have to be ahead of the curve. If
you’re going to be successful today, there are only a few business
models that will work with digital. You need to have a portrait studio, you
need to become more of a pro lab operation, and you need to get involved
in wide-format printing.”

Gerwels’ advice for people opening a portrait studio: “Start small.
Just do head-and-shoulder shots at first, and then move into other markets
as your business grows.”

A lot has changed for Memories Photo & Digital over the years as the business
continues to evolve. But some things will never change. “We’ve
always offered the best in photofinishing and a wide range of services in this
part of the country. That’s true and it always will be that way,” he
concludes.